Shepherd Announces Retirement From Kickboxing

January 20, 1987|By Jude Camillone, Staff Writer

A kickboxing legend will officially give up the battle today.

Steve Shepherd of West Palm Beach, a five-time world champion in four weight divisions, will announce his retirement from the sport at a 2 p.m. press conference at Shepherd`s sports bar in West Palm Beach.

Shepherd, 36, said he will be devoting his time to the restaurant business.

Shepherd`s first pro fight was in 1974. His last fight was in 1984.

After recovering from a 1984 operation, the right-handed boxer began training for what would have been his return to competition in 1986 or early 1987. Recently, he finally faced reality -- he could not fight again. His right arm had atrophied 2 1/2 inches.

``A ruptured disk in my neck pinched a nerve and caused 10 percent permanent nerve damage,`` Shepherd said Monday. ``I just don`t have the punch that is required of a professional.

``Before the operation, the ruptured disk was painful. But I thought I was OK after the operation. But it became apparent it was more serious than I had imagined.``

So Shepherd, a native of Manahattan who moved to West Palm Beach 26 years ago, will retire with dignity, refusing to attempt the physically dangerous, if not impossible.

Shepherd`s conquests included title victories over the Professional Karate Association`s welterweight and heavyweight champions and the World Karate Association`s middleweight and super middleweight champs.

His biggest payday was $45,000. He fought for as little as $150 as a rookie.

Shepherd says his finest hour came when he challenged and defeated then- heavyweight champion Demitrius (Oak Tree) Edwards of North Carolina in a 10-round bout in the West Palm Beach Auditorium in 1982. Shepherd entered the fight as a middleweight. He left the ring as the No. 1 heavyweight.

Oddly, what he lists as his second greatest achievement resulted in a broken jaw and a loss.

``My jaw was broken in two places in the first round of a fight against John Moncayo of New Mexico,`` Shepherd said of the fight, also held in West Palm Beach. ``I didn`t quit, though, and I lost by one point. It was very painful, and very satisfying. I`d been winning a lot of fights rather easily and people questioned whether I could take a punch. I showed them I could.``